Hey, hey, hey! Tomorrow is the weekend. Woot!
I hope each and every one of you are doing well. I actually have a little bit of venting I need to do today. 😉
A couple of years ago I did the Whole 30. I loved it. I learned a lot. It was actually quite eye opening to me. I would recommend it to anyone.
Ever since the New Year, I’ve had A LOT of hits on my blog for my posts about The Whole 30. You can read about some of those posts here, here, here, here, here and here if you want to. For those of you who aren’t familiar with The Whole 30, it’s basically an uber strict Paleo diet for 30 days. You pretty much only eat meat, veggies, some fruit, eggs, nuts and seeds. You don’t eat any sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, artificial crap, preservatives, etc. You read every single label of every single thing you put in your mouth.
It’s actually quite awesome even though it’s freaking hard.
I really love about 90% of the Whole 30 program, but there’s about 10% of the program that just really really bugs me. When I first read the Whole 30 book, It Starts With Food, I was intrigued, motivated and inspired. However, there was also something about the book that just didn’t sit well with me. The whole tone of the program and book had a little bit of an arrogant, condescending, elitist, “my way or the highway” kind of feel to it.
I am not a fan of that.
Yes, Whole 30 is healthy. Yes, Whole 30 is hard. Yes, Whole 30 is educational. Yes, Whole 30 is strict. I actually LOVE all of those things about it!! What I don’t love is the judgmental, perfection seeking, elitist bullcrap that it promotes and the environment it creates.
To help illustrate what I’m talking about, I’d like to share a comment that was recently left on my blog on one of my posts about My Whole 30 experience…
The Whole30 program is very clear on its rules about no cheats and no slips. So it is great that you are enjoying the program and healthy food, but you’re not truly completing it. Those sticks of gum and occasional “oops” sugar slips mean you head back to day 1 to truly do a Whole30.
That’s really not that bad of a comment, BUT reading that comment reminded me of all the reasons why I’m not a fan of Whole 30!! It echoed the same tone and sentiments that the authors of the book had.
This comment kind of baffled me and left me shaking my head. I really don’t feel a need to defend my Whole 30 because I feel really good about my efforts. I kicked some serious tail! I stuck to my guns and I did not quit. The only thing I “allowed” myself that wasn’t completely compliant was the occasional 1/2 stick of gum. I probably had about 3 sticks of gum total the entire 30 days. BUT, I didn’t care. I decided I was fine with that.
The other “oops sugar slips” this commenter was referring to was when I realized that my seasoning salt had sugar in it (I used it a couple of times and then stopped using it after I realized it had some sugar.) I also had a couple of pieces of beef jerky at my sister’s house and then realized there was sugar in that too! That was it. I didn’t let those mistakes (they were mistakes, not deliberate choices) deter me and I just kept plugging along.
Again, I don’t feel a need to defend myself, I’m just trying to paint a picture so y’all can understand what my beef is with Whole 30. I think the environment and community that Whole 30 has created can become the perfect breeding ground for people who like to look down their noses at others, find fault, judge, puff themselves up and seek perfection and expect perfection of others.
Barf. Barf. Barf. Barf. That is SO NOT ME.
I loooooooove health and fitness and am so passionate about it! However, I love to write and talk about health and fitness in such a way as to include everyone. I want to inspire, motivate, encourage, lift up and help others along the way. I like to look at “failures” in healthy living as learning experiences, opportunities to grow and just part of life. Part of human nature.
Another thing that I don’t like about Whole 30 is that aside from the actual Whole 30 challenge, they also promote the Paleo diet as THEE healthiest diet out there. The only way to eat.
That kind of bullcrap bugs me too! I do think the Paleo diet can be very healthy. I know sooooo many people who have seen and felt great results from eating that way. BUT, I DO NOT believe it is the best or the only way to eat!
I love reading about all the different “healthy” diets out there. I love learning about other people’s ideas and successes. BUT, I hate it when people claim to know the BEST way for everyone to eat and in turn judge and find fault with others who don’t subscribe to their same way of thinking (vegan, vegetarian, Paleo, Keto, raw food, yada, yada, yada.)
The thing that really bugs me is that I don’t think there is ONE diet out there that is the best and works for everyone! We are all different, so of course different foods are going to react differently for different people! One of the reasons why I do like The Whole 30 is that it’s an elimination diet and can help people to discover how different foods react in their body….when and if they decide to add them back into their diets.
I personally know many, many people who have Celiac Disease or who are legit Gluten Intolerant. I know several people who are lactose intolerant or who have a dairy allergy. I know a lot of people who have negative reactions to fruit, eggs, nuts and seeds. I know a couple people who are severely allergic to different meats. AND, I recently met a girl who was allergic to most vegetables!??! I didn’t think anyone was allergic to vegetables.
Sooooo, if people want to claim that all of these foods are bad because of various reactions people have from them…..then ALL of the food out there is bad! I think the BEST diet for YOU is what works for YOUR body and helps YOU to feel your BEST!
Actually, that’s why I love macro counting because it allows everyone to customize it to the foods they like! It helps to assure you get a good balance of protein, carbs and fats, but what you decide to eat in that balance is up to you!
Gosh peeps, I didn’t mean to go on and on and on!!! There are just a few things out there that get me fired up and this is one of them! I think I’ll be quiet now. Ha ha.
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In my last post I told you guys how I’d been struggling with my diet lately! It’s weird because a couple months ago, I had a really good thing goin’! I was eating well, not eating too much and my sugar consumption was amazingly in control (I could enjoy a little, but it wouldn’t get me off track.) It was awesome. Quite miraculous actually. I loved it and I felt great. It almost became easy.
Enter the holidays + all the stress I went through with Kev. My diet, willpower and motivation kind of plummeted and I have struggled to get it back! Auuuuughh! It’s been frustrating. I tried to get back to a nice balanced way of eating, but I just couldn’t get back to that magical spot I was in before.
Sooooo, a few days ago I decided enough is enough. I decided to set some new goals for myself….some more specific and strict goals.
Unfortunately (or fortunately…however you want to look at it!), my birthday is in less than a month. I LOVE eating crappy food on my birthday. It’s seriously one of my favorite things about my birthday, ha ha! Soooo, I am sticking to these goals until February 9th.
BUT, I plan to get right back to work after my birthday.
Sooooo, once again I am cutting out sugar from my diet for an extended period of time. I will not have any cake, cookies, brownies, donuts, ice cream, candy, etc. I’m also just going to try to eat real food. I’m not going to have any fast food, no fried food, no crap, etc. I’m just going to focus on quality food that helps my body to feel my best.
I started on Tuesday and I already feel better! My motivation is coming back and I don’t want to quit. Woo hoo! I’ve learned many, many, many times before that the hardest part about getting back to healthy eating after I’ve been slackin’ for a while is just getting started. When I’m in a rut, healthy eating seems so daunting and complicated. BUT, once I get started it really does get easier every single day. I love it.
Sooooo, I’ve been drinking lots of green smoothies (with minimal or no fruit) or protein shakes most days…
I’d much rather chew my food….I’m not a huge drinking type person. I drink water ALL DAY LONG and I drink the very occasional Diet Coke, but that is it. I’m really not into smoothies or fancy drinks. BUT, when it comes to veggies I’ve learned it is much easier for me to just chuck a bunch of goodness into the blender, mix it up and drink it! I get SO MUCH more greens and veggies into my diet this way. It’s also much easier for me to make a drink instead of a salad. I still enjoy salads too though!
This particular smoothie consisted of unsweetened cashew milk, water, cucumber, frozen mixed antioxidant berries, a lemon wedge, chia seeds, a 1/2 scoop of my Amazing Grass Superfood and two giant handfuls of spinach. I also sprinkled a little bit of Crystal Light Pure in there to make it taste good.
Yes, it’s a weird concoction, but it wasn’t too bad!
There wasn’t a lot of protein in that smoothie, so I had it along with this…
Some chicken (my yummy baked chicken recipe) and a protein ball! I decided I was going to allow myself a protein ball occasionally. It helps to keep me in it for the long haul and helps to keep me sane. I’m still aware of my macros though and am trying to make sure to keep the carbs in check.
My 6 year old had been begging me to make protein balls for a very long time, so I finally did!!
He’s been loving them as an after school snack and now my baby has been asking for them too! Ha ha. All my kids enjoy them. I have several different protein ball recipes on my blog, but this one is my fav. This one is Kev’s fav.
Yum!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good!
I bought a turkey breast from Costco a couple of months ago, so I decided to pull it out of the freezer and cook it up! It was so simple and tasty. I made some mashed potatoes and gravy (my whole family is always soooo happy when I make them!) and carrots. I also pulled out some homemade rolls I had in the freezer and the kids were thrilled. I didn’t have one though, but I’m happy ’bout that. I’m stickin’ to my guns!
I made myself this as a snack today and yesterday…
I just cooked up a Flatout into chips…I sprayed it with olive oil, sprinkled it with seasoning salt and cooked it in the oven for a few minutes on 350. I then broiled it for a couple more minutes to crisp it up. I dipped the chips in cottage cheese. Sooooo good!
I do need to send out a warning though. A couple of days ago, my “chips” caught on fire in my oven! Ahhhhhhh! Yes, it was so scary. I had them on the highest rack in the oven on broil and for some reason they decided to catch on fire. I opened the oven to check on them and flames shot out. Sooooo, I decided to shut the oven door, turn the oven off and then ask Google if I was doing the right thing.
I was. Fire needs oxygen, so when you keep the oven door closed, the fire is contained and eventually dies out. I was freaking out though. After the fire was out, I immediately checked on Amazon for a fire extinguisher. I think I’m going to order one.
Anyway, here are my beautiful “chips”…
Sooooo sad. And freaky. I was grateful they were on my “cruddy” pan and not one of my “less cruddy” pans.
Oh, I also recently got some new Protein Powder that is very yummy…
I’ve been using PEScience Protein Powder for a while now and I’m really loving it. I’d never tried that Peanut Butter cup flavor before though and it’s awesome!
I also want to share a few darling pictures.
I snapped this one as we were walking into church the other day….
My heart melted. It’s been so fun to have a baby in our house! Yes, he’s almost 2 1/2, but he’ll always be the baby! All the kids love him so much and take such good care of him. I love it. He’s really been a blessing to our family. <3
My 6 year old and 8 year old have enjoyed playing dress ups with “the baby” lately too. I came home from the gym the other day and found them like this…
Too cute.
Here’s another “get up” my baby came up with (with some help from his brother) the other day…
He ran around the house saying, “I’m Super!” We were all laughing so hard.
AND, today he wanted to eat breakfast as “Santa.”
He is in such a fun stage right now and I’m soaking up every second. It seriously rips my heart out to see him growing up so quickly! He is my last baby……sniff, sniff. Seriously though, I may need counseling. It is so hard for me to see ALL of my kids growing up. It literally hurts my heart.
Well, I gotta hit the hay! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! xoxo
Yes!!! I am doing the Whole 30 right now and I do enjoy it (although I am still drinking my Shakeology because it has been good for ME. I am not doing this for anyone else).
I put off doing the Whole 30 because there is such an attitude about it. I find that a lot with people who adhere to a specific diet (Vegan, Weight Watchers, Paleo, even Beachbody.) I have learned a lot about what foods work for my body and my athletic performance, and my own health. I am an educated consumer and advocate for my health. The snootiness that comes from these type of programs is exactly why people get put off by them.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with you! And love seeing your own journey. Blessings!
Oh Tiffany, I wish you all the best with your Whole 30! I’m glad you’re still drinking your Shakeology too. I agree 100% with making it your own and doing it for YOU! Love that!!!
There are so many diets out there it can be confusing. One time when I tried out Crossfit, the instructors were kind of pushing The Whole 30 philosophy to achieve optimum health and fitness.
I remember your Whole 30 posts, and I remember thinking, wow she is so strong and dedicated.
Glad you’re doing well on your health goals and we’re only human. That time with your sweet hubby was very stressful. If my hubby got ill, I’m sure I’d turn to food for comfort too (and wine if I’m being totally honest.)
Enjoy your birthday next month and celebrate life! Why shouldn’t you? You’re awesome and life is good!
I know! Because there are so many conflicting diets out there, I really feel that everyone just needs to find what works for them! I do love Whole 30 and think it’s a great, healthy diet…I just don’t love the drama that goes with it!
There are definitely certain aspects of the Whole 30 that I love… And it works for a lot of people (including some of the people I coach in weight loss)… However, I too find it to be a TAD restricting – as everyone is different thus we all process foods differently. For instance, no chickpeas? While, I am not bean eater – there are lots of people who feel wonderful eating them… So why not eat them?!
I actually really love Whole 30, but I just hate all the drama and politics. Blah. I had the same thought about chickpeas and legumes in general. That really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me!
Thanks for your honest thoughts about Whole 30. We’ve been contemplating doing it. I’d like to get everyone in this household off sugar for a month and see how it feels. I have to say the “no alcohol” restriction is more of a problem for me than it should be (!) but probably wasn’t a problem for you 🙂
We had to do an elimination diet once when one of the kids was having some health problems they couldn’t diagnose: lethargy, attention problems. It turns out he’s sensitive to wheat. I remember the first week on the elimination diet we all felt a little like we had the flu, with muscle aches, fatigue. Since then we eat a LOT less bread around here, and my husband is allergic to beans and legumes, and caffeine isn’t restricted, is it? Maybe it would be different with Whole 30…
That’s crazy that wheat was causing your son so much trouble. So interesting! I think you’d like Whole 30. It was eye opening to me for sure. I kept reminding myself that it was only 30 days, which really isn’t that long. I know the alcohol this is hard for most people!! I can’t remember if caffeine is restricted or not, dang it. It probably is though because they pretty much cut out everything that has any ill effect on the body!
I agree with you on how important it is to find what works for you and make you happy as everyone is different. And my gosh how is the baby that old already? I remember you being pregnant with him!
I know, everyone’s health journey is personal and individual. I think it’s vital for everyone to find what works for them.
I can’t believe how big my baby it getting too! I feel like I was just pregnant with him too!! Crazy.
This is exactly why I stopped reading any groups or instagram W30 posts, the arrogant undertone to it. I couldn’t take it anymore!! Our last baby turns 3 in April- it is SO bitter sweet! I love the little girl she is turning into, but it’s crazy that we are completely done with newborns and babies!!
I love Whole 30, but have just learned to “make it my own” and steer clear of all the drama and politics!
I absolutely hate watching my kiddos grow up, but it’s sure nice to get out of the craziness of the baby stage. Bittersweet for sure!
I’m one of those people who found your blog by searching “whole 30 experience”. My husband and I are going to start in a week and I’m trying to plan for it. I looked at your site and a few others and learned a lot – even from the “cheats” you shared. Believe me you are not the only one who had a stick of gum and kept going! Thanks for sharing an honest account of the whole 30. I loved it!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad I did Whole 30 and learned so much from doing it. I wish you and your husband all the best!
I found your post because I was searching for people who had the same reaction to The Whole 30 as I did! Reading the vegetarian/vegan page on their website made me so frustrated. There’s about 3 paragraphs trying to convince people to reconsider their vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.
And then goes on to make it very clear that if you do allow plant protein to compensate for no meat, you’re not technically completing the whole 30.
Just a very unpleasant tone. You summed it up well!
Thank you for your comment Em! Ya know, I really liked Whole 30 in theory, but I was so turned off by the whole “my way or the highway” vibe. Blah. Whole 30 is a healthy, yet very extreme diet that is certainly NOT for everybody, especially as a long-term lifestyle. I didn’t know they were trying to deter vegetarian/vegan people too! Gah! So lame. I’m glad to hear that there are others out there who were turned off by their condescending approach as well. 🙁